Nima's (Gassville AR)

Nima's (Gassville AR)

While recently in Arkansas I had a chance to visit Nima's Pizza, a small restaurant in Gassville. I had come across it online and after learning that their pizza's won awards and competitions I figured it was worth checking out, so last Friday me, Mrs. Chicken, our younger daughter, and the in-laws stopped in for dinner.

Nima's is small so I suspect the majority of business is carryout and delivery. While we were there the dining room stayed mostly empty but quite a few people came in to pick up phone orders; unfortunately, Nima's was shorthanded that night and running behind but the customers waited patiently and I didn't hear any complaints.

While we stuck with our standard toppings of sausage, mushrooms, and black olives.

I'm sure some of you are skeptical at this point but I think Nima's pizza is indeed quite good (of course, as a native Midwesterner I know nothing about pizza, that's not how it's done out East, blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda). The crust is hand-tossed so it's thicker but it's not too doughy or bready, and it was a combination of crunchy outside and softer inside. I also liked that the sauce wasn't very sweet at all, which was noticed by my daughter as well. It wasn't heavily seasoned but the lack of sweetness made the other flavors more noticeable. As far as the mushrooms go, I know some people get their panties in a wad when the canned variety is used but I've never minded them and they tasted just fine, and it's possible that they're more popular than fresh mushrooms in this market anyway.

While we were there I overheard one of the owners tell a customer that later in the year the restaurant is going to be closed for a week while they travel to Italy, possibly for a competition. I think it's pretty neat that a pizzeria from an Arkansas town of 2097 people isn't afraid to put its name and its product on the line!

Brad - Nima's looks really great. Tony Maronni's in Sussex placed 7th at that Vegas pizza competition in 2008 and is our favorite place for pizza. I would imagine the winner of the competition would be even better.

With all the great places you're finding in AR, you must be tempted to join the old redhead down there.